Simo Häyhä was a Finnish military sniper in World War II during the 1939-1940 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫 against the Soviet Union. Is called the 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 because during the winter war, that lasted less than 100 days, he had killed more than 500 mens, the highest number of sniper kills in any major war. Also for this reason he is seen as the deadliest sniper of humanity.
He was born into a Lutheran family of eight children in the village of Rautjärvi in Vyborg Governorate, near the present-day Finnish- Russian border. He attended elementary school in Mietilia and worked on the land with his brother. His family enjoyed fishing and hunting. At the age of 17, he joined the local security force and received sniper training. He achieved high results in the Vyborg sniper competition.
He began his military service in Raivola in 1925 and continued his service in the 2nd Bicycle Battalion. He then entered the NCO School and graduated as a NCO in the 1st Bicycle Battalion in Terijoki. He received his sniper training 9 years later at the Utti Fortress in Kouvola.
He served as a lieutenant colonel and was discharged after being seriously wounded at the end of the war. Hayha also participated in the Battle of Kolla. He fought in Aarne Yutilainen's 34th Infantry Regiment. Here he was shown to be very skilled in the use of an automatic rifle and a pistol.Simo Hayha killed 500 enemies with a sniper and 200 with an automatic weapon in three months before he was wounded. The number of killed Soviet soldiers was counted only by the sniper and his comrades. However, the enemy killed was counted. If several snipers fired at one killed enemy, this was not taken into account. According to the testimony of Robert Brantberg, Hayha killed a record number of Soviet soldiers on 21 December 1939 — 25. The total number of killed Soviet soldiers in the first three days of December was 51. Antti Rantama indicates in her diary that Simo Hayha killed 259 people with a sniper and the same number of enemies with an automatic weapon by 7 March 1940 (the date of his wounding).
On March 6, 1940, Hayha was seriously injured in Kolla. As a result of the explosion, shrapnel hit his left face, shattering his face and facial bones. Hayha, who was transferred to the rear, only regained consciousness on March 13. He received treatment in Helsinki and underwent surgery on his face. Due to the severe injury he received, he was not called up for the war that took place in 1941-1944.
Hayha used a sniper rifle - a rifled M/28-30 ( Finnish : Pystykorva; serial number 60974) in combat . Unlike other snipers, he used an open sight . This sight made it easier to lock on to the target, and in winter the glass of the optical sight was covered with a tarpaulin. In addition, the lens flare revealed the sniper's position.According to reports, Simo also used a Suomi automatic rifle.
Hayha adapted his sniper technique and tactics for winter conditions. When he opened fire, he first poured water on the area in front of the gun and froze it, so that the snow would not blow into the sky when firing. He held snow in his mouth while firing, and when he exhaled, no steam would escape into the air. His thick clothing regulated his pulse and breathing. His small height gave him an additional advantage - 152 cm.
After World War II, he took up deer hunting and dog training. He began hunting with Finnish President Urho Kekkenon. When asked in 1998 how he became such a good shooter, he replied, "Just by practicing." He spent the last years of his life in Ruokolahti, a small village near the Russian border.